MULTIPLE SCALES OF SOCIAL RELATIONS IN REMINISCENCE ACTIVITIES FOR OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

Abstract Memory, especially autobiographical memory, is central to personhood in contemporary North America and Europe (Herskovits 1995). Cultivated practices of reminiscence, in which older adults are prompted to remember events and experiences from the past, can be pleasurable, meaningful, and therapeutic activities that shape personhood and contribute to wellbeing (Coleman, 1999; Sherman, 1987). Although reminiscence practices include both individual (e.g., Butler, 1963; Woods et al., 2018) and social (Hash et al., 2021; Sass et al., 2021) elements of remembering, less attention has focused on the myriad scales of social relations that are part of reminiscence activities. Moreover, the mechanisms through which reminiscence creates positive transformations remain unclear (Menn et al., 2020). Anthropological theories of personhood show that social relations at multiple spatiotemporal scales play key roles in transforming personhood (Carsten, 1995; Robbins, 2021), thus suggesting a nuanced framework within which to understand how social relations shape personhood and contribute to wellbeing for older adults. Drawing on a systematic review of interdisciplinary literature on reminiscence activities for older adults, this paper documents the multiple scales of social relations (interpersonal, institutional, regional, [trans]national) that are part of reminiscence activities, and interpretively analyzes their significance for personhood and wellbeing. Key findings of this study are: 1) collective memory plays an important role in reminiscence activities; and 2) fostering reminiscence activities that focus on meaningful elements of the shared past can promote wellbeing for older adults. These findings have implications for 1) refining gerontological theories of reminiscence, and 2) improving reminiscence-based practices for older adults.